


Halloween Pumpkin

by TheGoblinWitch



Series: A Collection of Mini Monstrous Love Stories [1]
Category: Monster Girls | Monster Boys, Original Work
Genre: Affectionate Monster, F/M, Fat Shaming, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Human/Monster Romance, Original Character(s), Other, Pet Names, shadow creature
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-09-28 07:31:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20422244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGoblinWitch/pseuds/TheGoblinWitch
Summary: A peak into a diner booth, late one Halloween night, with a young woman and her ever present creature companion/protector. Just a short, fluffy Human/Monster one shot to sink your sweet tooth into.





	Halloween Pumpkin

**Author's Note:**

> Transferred over from my Tumblr from years ago for preservation.
> 
> This will be the first of a series of one-shots and short stories of human/monster tales. Most will be romantic, though other forms of love will also be explored. 
> 
> Series will update sporadically.

The buzz of electric neon lights rang in Lena’s ears. She glanced around, feeling the weight of exhaustion ebbing at her eyes as she took in the gaudy neon signs that plastered the diner’s walls. The occasional flicker of light would catch her attention and draw her gaze again.

It was a greasy, little hole in the wall, that somehow managed to have an endearing charm despite it’s grungy first impression. The bustle of servers and cooks, as well as the chatter of other patrons, filled the room with a life of its own and a distinct heartbeat that mirrored her own as she looked to her companion. 

A short, stocky woman with a tiny witch’s hat precariously perched on her head, only held on by a thin black ribbon, suddenly appeared beside the booth. She flipped her frazzled blonde hair over her shoulder before pulling out a dingy pad of paper and a matching pen. With a tired huff she looked over to Lena and finally muttered to her, asking if she was ready to order. 

Lena nodded. “Yeah, a coffee and a plate of biscuits.” 

“I want coffee, too.” A gritty voice grumbled at her. 

Lena rolled her eyes and sighed. “Two coffees and a plate of biscuits.” 

The server perked an eyebrow and looked across the table from Lena, a moment of confusion crossing her face before it settled into a careless, blank expression again. To her, as well as everyone else in the small diner, the other side of the booth was inconspicuously empty. She wasn’t paid enough to care though. “I’ll get that for you, doll. Just a minute.” 

After the woman left ,Lena squinted across from her, her eyebrows pursing together in agitation. Unlike the other patrons, she could clearly see the person, if you could call them that, sitting across from her. Creature? Yes, creature was much more accurate.

Their form was simple. A vaguely humanoid shape that was dark grey, and eerily disproportionate. Not quite dark enough to be called black and ever so slightly transparent. Long, jarring horns sprouting from their head, like a caimara of a pair of stag beetle mandibles and a pair of rose thorns. Long talon-like fingers, fading into a deep pitch black lacquered shine, tapered down and began to tap at the diner table. The drum of nails clicking against the surface was deafening. As Lena’s gaze drifted further up the form, her eyes caught on the single distinct feature the form had. 

Sharp glistening teeth, that curved upward into a smug grin. 

“You can’t even drink it, so why do you insist on making spend my hard earned money?” Lena’s voice was quiet and had a distinctly annoyed snap to it. 

The creature’s smile didn’t falter even as it retorted. “I enjoy playing human. How would you like to sit and stare at someone enjoying something while you have nothing?” 

Lena’s face softened and she sighed. She knew that feeling better than she would admit. 

“Fine. But it doesn’t change the fact that it draws attention when I order food for more than one.”

The smug grin finally faltered, drooping slightly.

It was downright infuriating that even just that made Lena feel guilty. 

She glanced around the diner and leaned back, shrugging as she pulled a ten dollar bill from her pocket. “Well…. Whatever. It’s not like it matters. Everyone here is too busy with their own stuff. Besides, I draw enough attention of my own. Who cares about an extra sippa.” 

Lena looked to her side and took in her reflection in the dingy diner window. An oversized orange shirt with a jackolantern face painted on it stared back at her, as well as a felted pumpkin top headband. Black, orange, and yellow face paint across plump cheeks completed the look.

The events from earlier that night crossed her mind and she pouted, trying to shove the thoughts from her mind. She’d gloriously embarrassed herself, showing up to a friend’s Halloween party in the homemade pumpkin getup. When they had told her it would be a costume masquerade they neglected to mention that it was a formal swarray. While others were dressed in elegant gowns and very minimalist actual costumes, she found herself feeling like, well, quite a country pumpkin. 

The creature’s mouth disappeared for a moment and it went strangely silent. 

It watched as the short, plump girl stared into her reflection, lost in her own thoughts and very obviously stewing about something. And they were pretty sure of what. After all, they had witnessed the entire ordeal. When the girl didn’t even turn or notice when the server brought their order, the creature finally spoke up, the gravel in it’s voice startling her back to the world of the living. 

“I like pumpkin.” 

Lena blinked, utterly confused for a moment. After she regained her composure she couldn’t help but smile and start to laugh. She wiped tears from her eyes as she caught her breathe. “Well…. Thank you, I think?” 

The creature used one long talon to drag the coffee over to its’ side of the table, the long finger barely registering the intense heat as it dipped into the mug. A low, rumbling purr erupted from it’s chest as it took a slow inhale. 

Lena couldn’t help but chuckle. She spread a dollop of honey across her biscuits, happily biting into the buttery, sweet goodness as she listened to the creature’s contented rumbles. As she polished off the second of the four biscuits, she licked some of the sticky sweet treat from her fingers, looking up to her companion. 

Their lack of expression beyond their crooked mouth was always a tad unsettling, but it mostly drove her up the wall that she couldn’t tell what it was thinking. She couldn’t shake the distinct feeling that it was staring at her though. It was a common feeling that she would quickly shake off as paranoia more often than not.

Her musing was cut short though. She visibly jumped as the front door of the diner slammed nearby, followed by the jingle of the bell overhead, announcing a new patron. The diner suddenly felt much more chaotic than before. A slew of dirty, drunken young men, bedsheets sloppily tied around them as makeshift togas clambered in. Ostentatious laughter filled the diner. To Lena’s displeasure, they piled into the only remaining booth. Right beside hers. 

Lena returned to munching her biscuits, quickly and quietly so that she could evacuate the now rowdy space as fast as possible. 

Suddenly Lena’s heart was in her throat and she choked on a bite of biscuit as one of the drunkards slammed a hand on the back of the booth behind her companion. A loud voice bellowed as he snapped his fingers and pointed over his shoulder. 

“Holy shit, guys! It’s the great fucking pumpkin! I bet we’d win if we brought this one to the county fair!” 

The rest of the blithering group erupted in laughter at the comment. 

Lena cringed. Such childish jokes at her expense had been common throughout her childhood, but for the most part she had grown out of receiving the extremely juvenile comments. It didn’t take the sting out of the words though, bringing back a slew of long forgotten insecurities. 

‘Best to go home and not focus on them’, she thought to herself. 

She quickly grabbed the crumpled ten dollar bill she had pulled out and left it on the end of her table, gathering herself and her things so she could leave, her last biscuit long forgotten. 

While she busied herself, the creature quietly stood from it’s own seat and stepped around to stare at the group. A guttural, primal growl erupted from it’s chest as it bent down to touch the end of each booth’s seat. With minimal effort, it gripped it’s long fingers in and pushed down, effectively crumpling the end of the seats. As the ends collapsed, a loud CRUNCH could be heard as the seats crumbled beneath the louts. 

Loud cries filled the diner and all of the young men fell down along with the seats. Confusion painted across their faces as they tried to drunkenly remove themselves from the pile of limbs and debris.

At the sound of the collapse, Lena jumped and whipped around, catching sight of the creature slowly rising back to it’s full upright height. A laugh erupted from it, spectral and unnatural, at the pile of chaos before it. 

The server from before dashed over to the source of the noise, already yelling at the inebriated troublemakers while the rest of the diner gaped.

Lena stifled a laugh with a hand across her mouth, quickly turning away and exiting the eatery. 

Once they had turned down a dark, quiet street she turned to her companion, who had stayed a steady few feet behind her. Her hand went to her hip as she rested all of her weight on one foot, her other hand pointing directly up and at the creature, who was still snickering under their breath. 

“I cannot believe you! Don't draw attention like that! You can’t be causing trouble like that or it will bring me trouble! Just what were you THINKING?” 

The laughter finally stopped and the distinct feeling that the creature was staring into her, boring into her with it’s lack of expression, returned. It’s head rolled to the side, ever so slightly and a purr flowed from it’s mouth, teeth curling into a wide, warm smile that sent shivers down her spine and gooseflesh up her neck.

“I like pumpkin.”


End file.
